Healthy Diet or Sweet Compromise?

My Whole Foods Kitchen offers a series of seven projects: Seven Steps to a Healthy Diet. Each project includes an eCookbook, a playlist of videos, a shopping list of bulk foods, and lots of cooking instruction. One project is called “Healthy Kids” that includes lots of not-so-healthy sweets, treats and seasonal favorites.

The healthy diet taught in this series can be followed to the level that you choose. Will you choose a strict healthy diet that includes no sugar, no salt, no meat, no gluten, no additives, no GMOs and no fun? Will you transition slowly and allow a few family favorites into your healthy diet even though they may not adhere to your dietary goals? It’s all up to you.

Millions of people already know they want to change their diet, but they don’t know how to make it happen in real life. Our plan is simple, inexpensive and adaptable to your personal preferences.

In my own home we have opted to eat meat on the major holidays and continue those traditions that our extended families hold dear. This makes room for pleasant relationships with those who don’t have the same healthy diet standards that we have. Some vegetarians would feel that this is too great a compromise. However, the real trick is to find your preferences and set your goals, make your own traditions and stick by them while also balancing relationships, close friendships and fostering childhood memories for your children.

Remember food is the center of life. When you cut out too many foods you often cut out relationships and celebrations at the same time. My husband and I are fun loving and love having lots of people in our lives. To maintain a strict no meat, no sugar, no alcohol, no fun disturbs other parts of our health that we value even more. We found over the years that we are able to maintain a very strict healthy diet all week long if we know that we can plan something fun on the weekends. Eating a heart-healthy diet doesn’t have to mean that you take the heart out of your cooking.

What have you chosen in your household? What are your thoughts on strict vs compromise? Leave comments below.